I don't have his growth chart in front of me but in the beginning he was climbing the chart, by 6 mo he was not climbing, but going across, now he's dropping down. At 6 mo he was 20th percentile and now he's less than that, not sure what % they didn't give me a copy this time. He's 17 lbs 6 oz and his height measurement was not accurate, but he's about 29".
I'm not sure if i should be worried, he nurses every 2 hours during the day, but only for about 7 minutes each time. 2 minutes on rt side, 5 minutes on left. In the beginning (when he was growing well) he would nurse for 10-15 minutes on each side. He has about 8 wet diapers a day. We started solids a month ago, he gets 1-2 jars of 1st foods a day and rice cereal mixed with juice. Doctor said he should start eating 3 meals a day, the 2nd foods. They are concerned about his growth, but aren't pushing for formula supplementation. Doc suggested i pump and feed him that in addition to nursing, but i'm not sure how thats going to help?

Personally, I would not be too worried, but every parent is different. It actually sounds pretty similar to what we went through w/ my son.

When he was born (ON his due date) he was 8lbs 3oz. He grew normally until 4 months--when he weighed 14 pounds. He then slowed until 6 months when he almost stopped growing comletely. Now, a year and a half later at 23 months, he weighs 22 pounds. He hansn't been on the charts at all for a long time (I think 6 months of age). His doctor said as long as he is growing it is okay. That there is a normal for each child and he believes Asa is growing within what is normal for him. It was when he started eating solids that his growth slowed intensely, too. On his first birthday, he was 17 pounds.

Now... if he starts losing weight or if he doesn't gain any weight at all for more than a month or two--then I may be concerned. But since he is having food now too, it doesn't really make sense for them to blame it on your milk/BFing...

Is he still gaining a little just falling on the charts?
I sure hope you find a solution that you feel safe and good about. It's hard being a mommy... so much to be concerned about. Keep us updated.

at his 6 mo checkup he weighed about the same, might have been a couple ounces more.
eta- if it matters...i had a breast lift years ago, but i don't think thats the issue since he WAS gaining weight for the first few months. If my breasts were too damaged he wouldn't have gained well ever..right?

corbin actually lost 1/2 lb at 3 months and is playing catch up now. we supplemented 2 oz of pumped milk at each feeding and woke him at night to eat for a while and that helped alot. he isnt on solids of course... it sounds like ur lo isnt getting alot of solids so maybe offer a little extra bm? that has the most nutritional value anyway. also my ped said that alot of babies slow down and thin out when they become mobile. she even said that if corbin had his issues at 9 months she wouldnt be so concerned. i would just offer the breast more, or offer a little extra pumped milk after each feeding. gl and keep us posted!

__________________
Loving wife to Sam and mommy to Corbin 12/13/07 and Cade 6/13/13

My first dd had failure to thrive as a toddler. Between 6 and 9 months she started dropping curves on the growth chart and by 19 months she was in the hospital with an NG tube and all sorts of scary stuff. Don't panic, but please stay on top of this.

BUT - my dd's trouble with gaining weight happened perfectly in tandem with increasing table food and decreasing breastmilk! (And her hospitalization was about 2 weeks after her final nursing.) Breastmilk is so much more caloric than baby food, and a lot of table foods. I would suggest to you that you emphasize very calorie dense food when you give solids. Things like avocado, full-fat dairy (I know it's a little young for straight milk but what does your dr say about yogurt?), I had to blend flaxseed oil in with my dd's applesauce etc (did this when she was older - not sure how I'd feel about oil at 9 months...).

Many baby foods are blended with water. My SIL makes her own and sometimes blends it with pumped breastmilk instead of water, a great way to boost the calories and nutritional value.

One guideline I read was that they should not drop more than 2 curves in 6 months, and that their weight and height percentiles should not be more than 2 curves apart. Also, you can use this: http://www.medcalc.com/growth/ and use the weight-for-length chart to see how things are going. At my dd's hospitalization, she was only in the 4th percentile on that chart, and she was born above the 95th percentile on that chart. She was 90th on height-for-age and 25th on weight-for-age, having been born at exactly the opposite of that.

Sounds like your dr is on top of it - mine missed it entirely and it took a new dr in a crisis situation to get this dealt with. Even so, stay aware, mama, and make sure you track this. A few months of slow growth is ok, but if this continues definitely push for help. And remember that fat is good for little kids, so if you need to up the calorie intake, add butter or oil to your toddler's food (as I said, I don't know about at 9 months).

How do you feel about it? Does he seem healthy and active and eating enough to you? My DD is similiar (though not quite so extreme) but I know I"m feeding her every time she's hungry (which I'm sure you are) and she's just moving around so much more than before. it takes a lot of effort to crawl that much. Don't know if someone's said this, but he's going to be a lot more effective eating now and it won't take him as long ot empty you. Also, my DD is much more interested in solids, so I just feed her as much as she likes with BF in between "meals" or before. She's much less interested in BF and if I'm not BF while she's hungry she just won't get down to business. She's pretty cyclical too. When she's teething I swear she eats 2 to 3 times as much and I'm not exagerrating. When she's not she barely eats. HTH

I don't think anyone mentioned it yet, but this kind of problem with weight after switching entirely to solids should be a warning sign for a severe food allergy - celiac disease comes to mind.

__________________Smitten mama to & proud creator of Margo Dora, who arrived August 14, 2007.
Expecting our second in early June, 2011.We should remember that if a situation cannot be changed, there's no point in worrying about it. If it can be changed, there is no need to worry about it either, we should simply go about changing it. – His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

How do you feel about it? Does he seem healthy and active and eating enough to you? My DD is similiar (though not quite so extreme) but I know I"m feeding her every time she's hungry (which I'm sure you are) and she's just moving around so much more than before. it takes a lot of effort to crawl that much. Don't know if someone's said this, but he's going to be a lot more effective eating now and it won't take him as long ot empty you. Also, my DD is much more interested in solids, so I just feed her as much as she likes with BF in between "meals" or before. She's much less interested in BF and if I'm not BF while she's hungry she just won't get down to business. She's pretty cyclical too. When she's teething I swear she eats 2 to 3 times as much and I'm not exagerrating. When she's not she barely eats. HTH

I feel like he looks healthy, he's not really skinny, he has a roll of fat on his legs. He is active and reaching his milestones and he is a happy baby, he is content after I nurse him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosella

I don't think anyone mentioned it yet, but this kind of problem with weight after switching entirely to solids should be a warning sign for a severe food allergy - celiac disease comes to mind.

I hope not! The doctor was concerned at his 6 month appt. but she attributed it to more activity from rolling around. He was exclusively bf til a month ago (8 mo)...so he hadn't even had solids when she first became concerned over his slow growth. Can celiac disease show up in an EBF baby?

Sounds like you're on watch but just wanted to add... I don't eat very well/much normally and when breastfeeding my boy I didn't do anything different and it lessened the calories in my milk because my body was struggling to take care of itself first. I lost 50 lbs in 9 mo of ebf and by the end of it was 145 lbs. I'm almost 6 ft so not healthy. DS pretty much stopped growing at 9 mo but was still nursing all the time. Because he was hungry! Duh! It took both me and the drs a bit to figure it out but by then he quit nursing (on his own at 10 mo) and was on food/goats milk. He has slowly gained back, as have I. High caloric foods are key! Now I tell all nursing mamas to make sure they are eating, healthy calories and alot because it could really hurt you and your baby. Thanks for letting me vent!